Friday, 21 February 2014

Once
upon a time in Ireland there was a family, a father and mother with kids from
school-going age through college, to those in their first jobs.

It
was a hard-working family, living within its means in a modest home in a modest
area. Attached to their house they had a few modest outbuildings which they
rented out for a little extra income.

Then
came a boom time and father – working in
the private sector – got a major pay-rise, while mother – in the public sector – benefited hugely from
the benchmarking process. The two older kids – both in full-time employment –
also benefited in their jobs, were now making good money.

Encouraged
by all the experts they were reading and hearing from in the media, warned that
if they didn't get on the property ladder sooner rather than later they would
end up paying a bigger and bigger premium the longer they delayed, the kids
each bought a new house, sooner and for far more money than they had ever
intended.

Then
came the bust.

Within
months father lost his job, mother's pay packet diminished as a plethora of new
taxes and levies hit home.

Adding
to their woes they learned that one of their tenants was in major trouble with
a big-time money-lender, being threatened with serious repercussions. An
emergency meeting was held to try and sort the problem, during which the
parents were duped into guaranteeing all the loans of the tenant, were told
that it amounted to nothing, assured that the guarantee would never be called
on.

Shortly
afterwards the truth began to emerge. The debts were substantial, the results of massive failed gambles by others
in the various property wheelings and dealings of the tenant. The loan sharks
moved in, called in the loans and sent in their enforcers to ensure the money was
collected.

Now
under enormous stress to handle even their own growing problems, the parents
protested, pointed out how they had been misled, stated that this was not their
debt, that at a time of crushing hardship for themselves they were now being forced
into paying the reckless and failed gambles of others.

No-one
listened. The media turned a deaf ear, the local police a blind eye, the local
authorities were themselves being looked after by the loan sharks.

The
family began to fall apart. Several of the kids emigrated, some leaving behind
a house mortgage they would never be able to repay; one of the kids sank into
depression, eventually took his own life; those who stayed were left with less
and less as the parents – despite their protestations – were strong-armed into
diverting badly-needed funds to meet the payments on this new odious debt.

In
time, everything now cut to the bone, things began to look up a little, a few
hours of work here and there for the father.

And
now the media was once again heard. ‘Sure what are ye complaining about, haven’t
ye still got a roof over your heads, aren’t there fewer mouths to feed, isn’t
there a few extra bob starting to come in – with new deals extending the terms and
conditions, sharing the burden with the next few generations, hasn’t all that
debt been made manageable for ye?’

The
police were still turning a blind eye – “Nothing to see here, move along now
and keep on moving!”

The
authorities? Through it all they had maintained their own high standards – of living.
High standards of governance? The same loan sharks who were strong-arming the
people were bank-rolling the authorities, insulating them from the hardship
they were imposing on their own people. There was no dissent there.

In
the meantime however, one small but determined voice was making itself heard,
joined eventually by several more. On March 6th 2011 the people of Ballyhea
first took to the street to protest against the imposition of this odious debt
on the Irish people. On Sunday March 2nd 2014 we mark our third
anniversary of weekly protest, a protest that has now become a campaign. Our
aim? First, highlight to the world what’s been done to Ireland, on the truly toxic
Promissory Notes especially; then have that odious debt repudiated.

We
will not be silenced. Join us please, March 2nd, Ballyhea, 10.30am.